IBHJ Chapter 950

"No! You're imagining things! I would never do anything so shameless!"

"Then why are you blushing? Why are you so flustered?" he questioned. He was worried because this woman had a history.

"Because it's embarrassing! My King, please be more mindful when you say things like that in front of a woman!"

"I didn't say anything specific," he countered. "You're the one who jumped to conclusions."

"But you said 'doing strange things,' didn't you? How could I not?"

He was momentarily speechless. This woman's way with words had definitely improved.

Realizing she'd overstepped, she covered her mouth. "I-I'm sorry, my King."

"It's okay," he shook his head and smiled. "It's actually kind of nostalgic, being able to talk like this."

He paused, then asked, "By the way, Artie, why do you want to keep up the pretense?"

She lowered her head. "Because until that child died, I didn't understand her at all. I was a failure as a mother." she looked up at him. "So, I want to see that child from a different perspective."

"I see," he nodded and smiled. "Then for these hundred days, let's work hard together."

"Yes," she nodded.

...

Two and a half months later.

The mirror-like surface of the crystal-clear lake was dead calm, reflecting the sky above like a giant looking glass. Without warning, it suddenly burst into a wild flurry of bubbles, as if some unseen force had cranked up the heat and set the whole thing to boiling. Then, just as quickly as it had started, there came a tremendous "whoosh" as a powerful jet of water shot up, climbing more than thirty meters high and sending a misty spray in all directions.

The lake calmed down again, the ripples fading away until the surface was smooth once more. A small stream, thin as a water snake, wound its way from the center of the lake toward the shore.

"Splash splash..."

The quiet was broken by the sound of rushing water. Mordred burst up from below, yanking a giant flat fish out of the lake.

Soaked to the skin, Mordred didn't seem to care one bit. She shook herself off like a puppy that had just gone for a swim, sending water droplets flying everywhere.

"Flop flop, flop flop..."

The big flat fish, now out of its element on the shore, struggled desperately. It wiggled and thrashed, trying with all its might to inch its way back to the safety of the water. Its gills flared uselessly in the open air as it fought for every breath.

Mordred glanced at it, then grabbed its tail with both hands and swung it hard, smashing it against a nearby boulder.

With a sickening "crack," the boulder split open.

The fish was dead instantly, its huge, plump body still twitching from nerve reactions.

Mordred dragged the fish by its tail, heading toward the small town by the lake.

She politely greeted the townspeople she met along the way.

"Catching fish so early in the morning? What a hard worker."

"If only my child was as well-behaved as Mordred."

"And she's also a Level 8 adventurer, with parents who are top-tier adventurers at Levels 9 and 8. What a lucky family."

Mordred politely returned the greetings of the townspeople, whether they were kind or envious.

She dragged the big fish towards her home.

This town wasn't very large, with many pyramid ruins scattered around. It was said that this place was once the most prosperous and bustling city on earth, but with Emperor Frieza's invasion and the virtualized world that followed, the city gradually declined.

Just as she reached the doorstep, the sound of a swinging sword came from the courtyard. She looked towards the yard and saw Illya practicing her swordsmanship.

"You're back, Mordred," Illya greeted, putting away her sword and waving.

"Mm," she nodded, placing the big fish on the ground. She looked around and asked Illya with a puzzled expression, "Where are my parents?"

"Morrigan and God Brain are still helping Ayaka and the others level up. As for Artoria-neesan and Shirou-niisan, they're probably out harvesting potatoes," Illya said.

"Harvesting potatoes?" she looked confused.

Illya explained, "Didn't the system release a harvest festival event earlier? They went to participate, and they're harvesting potatoes."

She added after a pause, "When Artoria-neesan left, she was all pumped up about harvesting the King of Potatoes."

Hearing this, Mordred said with annoyance, "Are they planning to settle down here? First buying a house, then getting all friendly with the townspeople, and now participating in some harvest festival... I get why he'd be into it, but why has my usually level-headed mother become so impulsive? I don't even know what to say anymore."

As she spoke, Mordred put her hands on her hips and sighed, looking like a worried old woman.

Illya couldn't help but find the sight of a three-year-old acting like that incredibly cute. She couldn't resist pulling Mordred into her arms and happily nuzzling her face.

"So cute."

"W-What are you doing? Let me go!" Mordred pushed Illya away and pointed her finger angrily. "Don't treat me like a hugging pillow!"

"Okay, okay," Illya nodded in agreement.

But judging by her expression, Mordred knew she wasn't taking it seriously.

It's so frustrating. Mordred desperately wanted to undo her reverse aging and return to normal. Otherwise, she had no authority at all. Seriously. At this rate, her dignity was going to hit rock bottom!

Entering the house, Mordred went to the bathroom to wash up, then grabbed a kitchen knife and set up several stools in the kitchen. Standing on the stools, she expertly sliced the big fish into fillets and started cooking, humming a tune as she worked.

Though she was young and had never practiced cooking when she was alive, in this virtual world, she had already used skill points to max out her Cooking skill.

Maxing out Cooking meant that even someone who was a disaster in the kitchen in real life would become a top-class chef in this virtual world.

Although everyone couldn't understand why Mordred specifically learned Cooking and invested quite a few skill points to max it out when Shirou and Artoria were around, Mordred had done just that, and she had been responsible for their meals recently.

"It smells so good~"

Illya was lured over by the aroma. Looking at Mordred, she asked, "Do you need any help?"

"No need, Illya. You'd just slow me down," Mordred replied bluntly.

"Gah..." Illya felt like an arrow had struck her heart.

Although her cooking was indeed terrible, having Mordred point it out so bluntly was really hurtful.

Feeling dejected, Illya sat down nearby, glancing at Mordred before checking her character status. Thanks to Venus's all-out support, after defeating a large number of high-level spore clones Venus had specially prepared for them, Illya had successfully reached Level 8.

Of course, it wasn't just her; Shirou and Mordred were the same. Moreover, Venus had gone out of her way to bring them a complete set of level advancement items from the major cities of various races, allowing them to reach Level 8 without having to waste time on the usual level advancement quests.

Of course, as an NPC, Venus couldn't just hand out items randomly. She was able to provide the items under the guise of an emergency mission issued by the Vampire King when her main body attacked Zaun.

Gilgamesh probably never dreamed they'd jump straight to Level 8 within two and a half months, right?

However, reaching Level 9 was proving to be a bit trickier. It wasn't a matter of experience points; Venus had already fed them plenty. The problem was that entering Level 9 required passing the Holy Land trial, meaning finding an Archbishop and completing the level advancement.

Shirou had suggested they relax and rest for a bit before tackling the Holy Land, so they'd bought a house in this town.

Illya touched the dragon horns on her head that she'd acquired after reaching Level 8 and sighed, muttering softly, "It's better if Chloe and the others don't see me like this, or they'll definitely tease me."

After Morrigan decided to enter this connection point, bringing Ayaka and Kiara with her, they reestablished contact with Chaldea.

Given the unique nature of this place, Chaldea opted for remote support instead of sending in the heavy hitters. As a result, that bunch of internet shut-ins from Chaldea got dragged into this game world, and the newbie village suddenly had a bunch of alt accounts running around.

Of course, Chaldea's alt accounts couldn't really help in any big way. The best they could do was scatter themselves among the various adventurer families and guilds, then slip info on the down-low. Basically, they were undercover agents infiltrating the native adventurer groups.